The A-Z of Volunteering and Asylum

A Handbook for Managers

Benefit from the skills and experience of refugees or asylum seekers as volunteers in your organization

Learn from experienced volunteers managers and volunteers in the UK about good practices and ideas for managing volunteering by asylum seekers

Quickly research an issue or area of management concern through the handbook's alphabetical organization or the compilation of references and suggested reading material in the Appendix

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Description

Many countries around the world are offering a home to refugees and asylum-seekers, often from cultures very different than their new environment. This handbook covers the issues and areas of concern that can arise when asylum is part of the equation – either because you're a volunteer resources manager in an organization that has taken on refugees and asylum-seekers as volunteers, or because your client group includes refugees and asylum-seekers. Recruiting these new arrivals as volunteers taps into the diverse skills and experience they bring, while allowing an organization to become more representative of the wider community.

The A to Z of Volunteering and Asylum honestly identifies the challenges of its unique subject while highlighting different ideas and approaches that are proving successful in the United Kingdom today. The handbook includes a glossary of terms, explains the reasons why engaging refugees as volunteers is important, and deals openly with possible problems.

International readers will need to ignore the material about British immigration and employment law or the British resources section, but otherwise should find the best practices suggested to be relevant and adaptable to their own countries. The handbook is also useful for dealing with any new immigrant population or situations in which participants have divergent cultural backgrounds.

‘Culture’ is a shared set of knowledge, beliefs, customs, morals and habits. Many of us are unaware of our culture, because we grow up in it and consider it normal – though if we are members of a minority group we may have been pushed into being culturally aware through being made to feel ‘different’. Within every society there are micro cultures: families, religious groups, social groups and different places and types of work all have their own cultures to some extent.

It is both enriching and beneficial to learn about different cultures. Volunteer managers can work to help staff and volunteers be aware of both their own and other people’s cultures – this can also help if friction occurs because of different cultural norms or because of misunderstanding. It is also important to remember that people brought up within the same culture may perceive that culture differently. No culture is static, all cultures change, and cultural identity is only one of the many influences that make us who we are. For instance, our ethnicity, immigration personal philosophy are all part of our make up, and some of these may mean more to us than culture.

So while learning about culture is important, it is equally important to avoid stereotyping. Alongside giving staff and volunteers information about particular cultures or nations, you need to help them build up self-awareness and the skills to ask the right questions, to listen well, and to be sensitive when working with people from different backgrounds.

Checklist - Cultural Awareness

be aware of your own cultural assumptions and how these may affect your understanding and responses

listen with respect and a genuine wish to learn

find out how people see themselves and their culture, what they value, what they see as important

beware of negative or pejorative ‘information’ – it usually indicates prejudice or incomplete understanding

understand that in discussing culture we are discussing possibilities, not certainties – a framework, not a straitjacket

be prepared to change your understanding as new information becomes available

sort out what information is useful and helpful to your work, and what is merely exotic or personally fascinating

understand the importance of factors such as age, generation, life experience, occupation, education and so on

realise that culture is one factor, but not the only factor in anybody’s life remember that the person you are working with is always the expert on their

own life, wishes and needs

(Schott and Henley, 1996)

For more information For information on countries that asylum seekers come from, visit the website of Human Rights Watch: www.hrw.org. The website of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees also has information about refugee movements (www.unhcr.ch).

This handbook is essential for any volunteering organisation wanting to build up and strengthen diversity. Whether your volunteers are helping refugee clients or whether you want to include refugee volunteers, it gives you clear guidelines, practical examples, useful contacts and lots of ideas. Highly recommended.

—Trevor Phillips, Chair, Commission for Racial Equality, UK

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